Mower



c. LOREN'SON MOWER Original Filed wov ze, 1918 WITNESSES Mil M 3Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEYS m. 15 i923. mm ss C. LORENSON MOWER OriginalFiled Nov. 26; 1918' I 5 Sheets-Sheet} 53 9 T.L: .E.

52 y 95 a c, 90 v ft 2 0 5 45 1 42 49 ,5 S 45 /0 65 INVENTOR CarlLore/7500 wa'aw/y L I ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Patented Get. 16, 192 3.

entra n srnrss 1,470,9 9 PATENT "OFFICE.

CARL LORENSON, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA, ASSIGNOR 'I'O LORENSON EARVESTER COM-I PANY, 0J3- LE CLAIRE, IOWA. 7

MOWER.

Application filed November 26, 1918, Serial No. 264,193. Renewed March2, 1923.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CARL LORENSON, a

citizen of the United States, residin at Davenport, in the county ofScott and tate of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Mower, of whichthe following is a full, clear-and exact description.

My invention relates to mowers, my more particular idea being toincrease the mobility of the machine and to enable it to be used wherethe cutter bar is required to work at various angles relative to thegeneral position of the machine so as to enable the machine toefl'ectively cut grass or vegetation Where the slope of the ground,passed over by the cutter bar, is generally unfavorable for cutting.

My invention further contemplates means for enabling the cutter bar tobe shifted into such position'as to be practically inverted, and usedfor topping weeds or the like in front at the left side of the machine.

My invention further contemplates various improvements in theconstruction of the mower, for the purpose of increasing the eiiiciencythereof.

- Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification and in'which like characters indicate like'parts inall the views.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan of my improved mower.

Figure 2 is aisection on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the directionindicated by the. arrows.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1 looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows.

' Figure 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 1 looking in the directionindicated by the arrows. V

I Figure 5 is a section-on the line 55 of Fig. 4 looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing my ma-' chine as used for cutting grassupon a surface sloping obliquely downward from the path of travel of themachine.

Figure 7 is a diagram-showing my machine as used for cutting grass upona surface sloping upward from the path of travel of the machine. I

Figure 8 isa diagram showing the device as used with the sickle andparts immediately associated therewith inverted for the purpose ofcutting the tops of Weeds disposed in front at the left side of the ma--chine as it travels forward.

A pair of supporting wheels are shown at 6 and a main shaft appears at7, this shaft extending through a pair of tubular casings, 8, 9. Betweenthese tubular casings and secured rigidly thereto is a gear casing 10. Aseat post is shown at 11 and f with a semi-tube 20. This semi-tube isconnected with another semi-tube 21 by bolts 22 so as to form a bearingof substantially tubular form.

Mounted rigidly upon the main shaft 7 and located within the gear casing10 is a bevel gear' 24 and also a clutch member 25. Another clutchmember 26 is secured rigidly to the main shaft 7 and revolubletherewith. The clutch member 26 is slidable relative to the main shaft 7and is provided with a clutch collar 27 whereby it is thrown into andout of engagement with the clutch member 25. Connected withthe clutchcollar 27 is a link 28, this link being also connected to a hand lever29 whereby the clutch is thrown into and out of action at the will ofthe operator, who sits upon the seat 12.

A lug 30 extending upwardly from the tubular casing 8 carries a pin 31,and the -hand lever 29 is supported by this pin.

Meshing with the bevel gear 24 is a bevel pinion 32. This pinion ismounted upon a shaft .33 which extends through the tubu- Iar bearingmade up of the semi-tubes 20 and 21. The shaft 33 carries a bevel gear34 which meshes with a bevel pinion 35. The bevel pinion 35 is mountedrigidly on the shaft 36, and with the bevel gear 34 is enclosed in agear casing 37. A brace 38 extends partially around this casing and issecured to a' lug 39 carried by the semi-tube 21. head 40. From thishead a brace 41 extends to a lug- 42 carried by the semi-tube. 20.Extendingplaterally from the head 40.

The brace 38 is also connected to a p is a tubular casing 43, throughwhich the '43 is a collar 44, and connected with thisas maybe understoodfrom Figs. 1 and 3.

Mounted loosely upon the tubular casing 43 and free to rock relativelythereto is a rocking' head 47. Mounted u on this rocking head andextending oblique y upward therefrom is-a Mg 48 of the form shown moreparticularly in Fig. 3. A rocking link 49 is connected to the upper endof the lug 48 and also to the lower end of a hand lever 50. This handlever carries a awl rod 51, and upon the lower end of this pawl rod is apawl 52 which detachably engages a sector 52. This sector iscarried upona boss 8 which extends forwardly from the tubular casing 8, as may beunderstood from Fig. 3. The hand lever is journalled upon a pin 8extending laterally from the sector 52, as shown more articularly inFig. 3.

The shoe of t e mower appears at 55, and is shown more in detail inFigs. 4 and 5. The grass rod appears at 56 and is connected with thefront end of the shoe. The sickle bar appears at 57 and at its outer endcarries a separator. board 58, 59. Connected with the outer end of thesickle bar is a turf wheel 60. It is mounted upon a guide bolt 61 whichcarries two springs 62, 63, these springs being disposed upon oppositesides of a bearing 64 through which the guide bolt works vertically inthe usual manner.

The shoe is located between the outer ends of two arms 65, 66, thelatter being provided with eyes 67, 68. The shoe is provided with afront wall 69 and with a rear wall 70, as may be understood from Fig. 4.The shoe is further provided with an actuatingarm 71 havingsubstantially atrianular form, as may be understood from igs. 4 and 5. Arevoluble shaft 72 is carried by the shoe and extends through the rearwall and through a bearing 73. This shaft carries a bevel pinion 74mounted rigidly upon' it. This bevel pinion meshes with a bevel gear 75mounted upon the shaft 36 which, as above stated, extends through thetubular casing 43. The shaft'72 carries a disk 76, and extendinglaterally from this disk is a pin 77. This pin extends through a head78, this head being mounted to slide vertically on two standards 79.Mounted upon the upper ends of these standards are two nuts which serveas limit stops for preventing excessive travel of the head 78. Thestandards 79 are, by means of bolts 81 or other appropriate faste'nings,secured to g lugs82. This lug is mounted-upon a cutter The parts are soarranged that the rotation of the disk 76 causes the head 78 to move upand down upon the standards 79,

and also to moveback and forth so as to cause a reciprocating motion inthe cutter bar 83. The cutter bar is provided with arm 71 carried by theshoe 55. The chain is also connected to a supporting arm 88 of the formshown more particularly in Fig. 3. This supporting arm is carried by arocking star wheel 89, the latter being mounted upon a journal neck 90which extends laterally from the framework. The rocking star wheel 89also carries an arm 91, the latter being connected with a spring 92which is also connected to the tongue 13 and is used as a retractilespring for the star wheel and parts carried thereby. The star wheelalsocarries a foot lever 93 and a hand lever 94. The foot lever is used forrocking the star wheel in-instances where comparatively little efi'ortis required for this purpose, but when greater effort is necessary, thehand lever 94,

Mounted rigidly upon the framework is l l a sector 95 disposed adjacentthe hand lever 94. This hand lever carries a pawl 96 for engaging thesector, thus locking the hand lever 94 in difi'erent positions. The pawl96 is controlled by a pawl rod 97, the latter being, in turn, controlledby a handle 98 carried upon the upper end of the hand lever 94. I

The purpose of the star wheel 89 carrying the hand lever 94 and the footlever 93 is to raise and lower the supporting arm 88 and thus operatethe chain 87 and parts actuated thereby. When the supporting arm 88 israised there is a pull upon the chain 87, and

asthis-chain is connected with the actuating arm 71 of the shoe 55, thisshoe is caused to rock upon the axis of the shaft 72 as a center. Whenthe supporting arm 88 is lowered, the shoe 55 is rocked, but in theopposite direction. The result is that when the actuating arm 88 israised the outer end of the sickle bar is raised, and, vice versa,when'the actuating arm 88is lowered the outer end of the "sickle bar islowered correspondingly. Thus, the outer end of the -sickle bar can beraised or lowered within wide angular limits.

the ground, as shown more particularly in face-upon which the wheels ofthe machine his are running. This may occur where the cutting is uponthe edge of a mound 0r embankment. For this purpose the sickle bar isbrought into the position indicated in Fig. 7. The device for preventingside draft appears in Fig. 1. Connected with the shoe is a link 99 whichleads to an arm 100, the latter being connected by a pivot pin 101 witha double tree 102, this double tree working upon a pin 103 which extendsthrough a slot 104 in aiwearing late 105 and in the tongue 13 of the macine.

The operation of my device is as follows:

The parts being assembled and arranged.

as above described and as shown in v the drawings, the operator occupiesthe seat 12 and the machine is driven forwardly by horses or otherdraught animals. The operator by manipulating the hand lever 50 can tiltthe sickle bar so that its front edge is raised or lowered relative toits rear edge, and in this manner can cause the sickle and parts accomanying' the same to glide over obstacles an also to conform to greatirregularities in the character of the ground surface. Ordinaryirregularities are taken care of automatically by the sickle bar, whichis freeto tilt in the manner just indicated by the automatic working ofthe.

head 47 from the tubular bearing 43;

Suppose, now, that the operator wishes to lower the outer free end ofthe sickle bar in order to make the out upon a slope disposed adjacentto the path of travel of the machine. The operator simply uses the handlever 94 or the foot lever 93, or both as the case may be, and causesthe sickle bar to assume a suitable position for the purposecontemplated. In extreme cases the sickle bar can be placed in theposition indicated in Figs. 7 and 8. en used as indicated in Fig. 8 themachine can be passed over stalks of corn eighteen inches high withoutinjury thereto, the cut being in front at the left side of the machine.This is desirable in instances where the machine is used for-toppingweeds disposed along the edge of a cornfield.

' I do not limit myself to the precise mechanism shown,-as variationsmay be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a mower. a frame, a pair of ground wheels arranged in transversealignment ,dis

supporting said frame, and a cutter bar hingedly secured adjacent to.one end to the frame, and arranged to extend in front of and betweensaid ground wheels or laterally of the frame at one side of the groundwheels.

2. An. apparatus for trimming hedges and mowing lawns, comprising acutter mechanism, means for supporting the said mechanism for pivotalmotion through an angle of 180 degrees-about an axis at right angle tothe cutting edge and means for operating the cutter mechanism in anyangular position.

3. In a mower, the combination of a travelling frame, a pivotallymounted shoe. carriedthereby, gearingmounted upon said shoe, mechanismoperable by the ,forward movement-of the frame for actuating saidgearing, a disk connected with said gearing and actuated thereby, a. pinextending from said vdisk, a head mounted upon said pin, standards uponwhich the head is slidably mounted, and a cutting mechanism connectedwith said standards.

4. In a mowing machine a shaft, means for operating the shaft, a tubularmember in whiclrthe shaft is mounted, arms carried by the tubularmember, a shoe provided with a vertical arm, a cutting mechanism carriedby the shoe, means for operating the cutting mechanism from the saidshaft, means for mounting the shoe between the arms whereby it may beturned .into various angles or swung into inverted position, and meansconnected with the arm of the shoe for operating it.

5. In a mowing machine, a shaft, means for operating the shaft, atubular member in which the-shaft is mounted with one end projectingbeyond the same, bent arms carried by the tubular member and extendin onopposite sides of the shaft at unequal distances therefrom, a shoepivoted between the said arms'and provided with a vertical arm, a shaftmounted in the shoe and geared with the first" shaft, a cuttingmechanism carriedby the. shoe, means for operating the cutting mechanismfrom the shaft of the shoe, an operatin lever, and a flexible member.connected wlth the lever and with the arm of the shoe, whereby provisionis made for turning the shoe and cutting mechanism at various angles orswinging them into an inverted position.

6..A device of comprising ground. wheels, a tubular shaftms.

posed intermediate thereof, a

gear mounted upon said shaft, a clutch which said bevel pinion ismounted, a tubular casing through which, said shaft extends,

the"character described Y tending through said tubular casing, a bevel ilat ber, a member mounted to rock on the tubular member and providedwith arms, a shoe -pivotally mounted in the arms, a driven shaft mountedin the tubular member and projecting beyond the same into the 'shoe, ashaft mounted in the shoe, gearing connecting the shafts, a disk mountedon the shaft and provided with a lateral pin, a cutter bar, standardscarried by the cutter bar, and a head mounted to slide on the standardsand with which the pin of the disk engages.

8. In a mowing machine, a tubular member, a rocking member mounted onthe tubular member and provided with arms, ashoe pivotally mounted inthe arms, a driven shaft mounted in the tubular end projecting beyondthe same into the shoe and having a gear wheel at its end, a shaftmounted in the shoe, and having a pinion meshing with the gear wheel ofthe driven shaft, a

disk on the shaft and provided with a lateral pin, a cutter bar,vertical standards carried by the cutter bar, ahead mounted to slide onthe standards and with which the pin of the disk engages, a hand lever,and a lever, a spring having one end secured to an arm of the lever andits other end to a fixed part of the machine, and a flexible connectionbetween another arm of the lever and the arm of the shoe.

10. In a mowing machine, an axle, tubular casings through which the axlepasses, a gear casing connecting the tubular casings,

a gear'wheel on the axle in the gear casing,

a tubular casing projecting forwardly from the gear casing, a shaft inthe tubular casing and having at one end in the gear casing a-pinionmeshing with the gear wheel, a gear casing at the forward end of thetubular casing and into which the said shaft extends, a, gear wheel onsaid shaft in said gearing casing, a transverse shaft extending into thelast named gear casing and provided with a pinion meshing with the gearwheel of the said shaft,a cutting mechanism, and means for operating thecutting mechanism from the transverse shaft.

CARL LORENSON.

